One 30-minute HBOT session helped the body recover faster after a hard workout.
In 10 amateur players, heart rate and lactate were lower 30 minutes later when a 1.3 ATA session followed exercise. Lactate is one marker linked to the muscle burn of hard exercise. The comparison conditions were no HBOT and the same session before exercise.
In a separate group of 18 men, some muscle-damage markers were lower after one 60-minute session at 2.5 ATA.
Published evidence cited here: Park et al., Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation, 2018 [1]; Woo et al., International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020 [2].
| No. | Article | Year |
|---|---|---|
| [1] | Park et al., Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation | 2018 |
| [2] | Woo et al., International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health | 2020 |
Two studies used very different recovery sessions.
Park et al. (2018) asked 10 healthy male amateur soccer players to do a maximal exercise test three times, at least a week apart. One session had no extra oxygen. One used 100% oxygen at 1.3 ATA, a little above everyday air pressure, for 30 minutes before the test. One used the same 30-minute session after the test. They measured lactate, heart rate, and antioxidant capacity before exercise, just after, and 30 minutes into recovery.[1]
Woo et al. (2020) ran a pilot with 18 healthy men, six in each group. All ran on a treadmill for 60 minutes. One group had no HBOT. Two groups then breathed 100% oxygen at 2.5 ATA, about two and a half times everyday air pressure, for 60 minutes. Blood was taken before exercise, after exercise, and after HBOT.[2]
Heart rate and lactate were lower 30 minutes later.
Park et al. (2018) reported lower lactate and heart rate 30 minutes after the test when the low-pressure session came after exercise. That result was compared with both no HBOT and HBOT before the test. It is a recovery-marker finding in 10 amateur players, not a performance win.[1]
Woo et al. (2020) reported that some inflammation and muscle-damage markers fell after the 2.5 ATA session compared with the moment just after exercise. Each group had six men.[2]
The studies measured recovery in the hour after exercise.
An HBOT cocoon® is a wellness system. These papers measured short-term recovery markers after exercise; they did not test race times. For a repeatable home format, compare pressure, room fit, and support.
A linked DOI opens the original paper on the publisher site.
- S.-H. Park, S.-J. Park, M.-S. Shin, and C.-K. Kim, "The effects of low-pressure hyperbaric oxygen treatment before and after maximal exercise on lactate concentration, heart rate recovery, and antioxidant capacity," Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation, vol. 14, no. 6, pp. 980-984, 2018, doi: 10.12965/jer.1836468.234
- J. Woo, J.-H. Min, Y.-H. Lee, and H.-T. Roh, "Effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on inflammation, oxidative/antioxidant balance, and muscle damage after acute exercise in normobaric, normoxic and hypobaric, hypoxic environments: A pilot study," International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 17, no. 20, p. 7377, 2020, doi: 10.3390/ijerph17207377
